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Demonstrating unmitigated gall, NBC reporter Luke Russert managed to be both insulting and condescending at Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) press conference yesterday. After Pelosi indicated her intention to run for another two years as the House Minority Leader in the new Congress, Russert asked

Colleagues privately say that your decision to stay on prohibits the party from having a younger leadership and hurts the party in the long term. What’s your response?

It’s a fair point. The Senate minority leader is 70, barely two years younger than Pelosi. Harry Reid is 72; John Boehner is hardly a spring chicken at 62. Pelosi is not only the first woman to serve as U.S. House Speaker — one of the most important and powerful positions in the Federal government — she is routinely considered by scholars as one of the finest Speakers in history. If house Democrats need to groom new leaders, giving up that experience and authority in a still acrimoniously divided chamber hardly seems sensible. Perhaps her #2, Steny Hoyer should consider stepping aside; his Blue Dog leanings are hardly appropriate for an increasingly diverse and progressive caucus. (He’s also one year Pelosi’s senior, but Russert doesn’t seem to care about that…)

Unlike all those men in positions of power, Nancy Pelosi actually took the time to consider her options and discuss them with the press. That shows real class — and leadership. Those are qualities we really need. Perhaps the reporter who got a big break right out of college because of who his father was should consider his words more carefully.